Top News Stories 2008-03-28 07:01:35

The US dropped bombs over Basra in an effort to support Iraqi forces in their clash with the Mehdi army. The fighting has stretched all week and last night's air strikes were the first. The Iraqi vice president's offices were hit during the shelling, killing two guards and wounding four. It's said that Iraqi security forces asked for these air attacks as they attempt to regain control of the oil-rich port city of Basra, against Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi army.

North Korea has test-fired short-range missiles off its western coast, according to South Korea. The explosions come just one day after North Korea expelled South Korean managers from a joint border project and are seen as a diplomatic protest and a political statement. North Korea is supposed to be in the midst of a deal requiring it to disarm to receive aid.

In perhaps another show of expanding freedoms and modernization in Cuba, President Raul Castro's government has authorized cell phones for ordinary Cubans. Owning a cell phone was a luxury previously preserved for top officials or people who worked for foreign companies. Service is expected to begin in the next few days.